Mobile Learning Stats that Will Make You Rethink Your Training Strategy

There is no question that mobile devices are changing corporate learning forever. However, this doesn’t mean classroom-based training or formal eLearning courses are going away, it just means the mobile movement is demanding companies to rethink their training strategies and to create learning programs especially for mobile devices.

"Within the next five years, we are going to be not just changing but transforming how we train and educate based on mobile," predicts Daniel Burrus, chief executive officer of Burrus Research Associates Inc., a Hartland, Wis.-based consulting firm. “Mobile learning is a bigger deal than most organizations realize. It represents an amazing disruption and opportunity in how we educate" he adds.

Companies cannot ignore mobile learning anymore. If you’re still planning your training strategy for next year, it might be useful to know about some of the most relevant statistics.

Mobile Adoption

1- Mobile-only users now OUTNUMBER desktop-only users.

According to a Google report of 2016, the number of mobile-only users has grown, and they now surpass desktop-only users. Multi-device usage too has increased, and people now effortlessly switch between smartphones, tablets, phablets, and laptop computers to manage their lives. The numbers below prove how mobile device usage now outnumbers desktop PC use:

80 percent people use smartphones

57 percent people use more than one digital communication device

27 percent people use ONLY a smartphone

14 percent people use ONLY a computer

2- Mobile users will increasingly own and use more personal devices at work.

Millennials Mobile Usage

According to Mitek and Zogby Analytics, almost 90 percent of all Millennials have their smartphones with them 24x7 - meaning their phones never left their side, and 80% of them reported they instantly reached for them right when they woke up.

9- More people prefer the vertical orientation when they consume educational content on their mobile devices.

According to the eLearning Guild Research, about 59.9 percent of people prefer the vertical orientation to consume training content on their mobile devices as opposed to 40.01 percent people who prefer the horizontal orientation. About 88.4 percent of people use large tablets when they are in a sitting or reclining position while 81.3 percent people use their smartphones when they are standing or walking.

12- The emergence of "Phablets": tablet and the smartphone are increasingly looking like each other.

Technically, the tablet and the smartphone are different devices that should deliver unique experiences. However, the lines between them have blurred in recent times, and it is now difficult to distinguish between the two. The notable areas of difference are: apps, battery life, camera, and web browsing experience.

Mobile Learning in the Workplace

13-Companies have realized the power and relevance of mobile learning as a business development tool.

14- Smartphone users are increasingly using their mobile devices to learn.

According to the findings of a survey by lynda.com in 2015, 30 percent of smartphone usersreported using their phones to consume organizational training content. The results of this study point to an increasing trend among professionals to consume learning on the go, a development that meets their need for on-demand content that aids workplace performance. Soon, mobile learning will be the primary way employees will access educational content.

Mobile Learning Benefits

18-Mobile learning improves learner motivation.

Mobile learning improves learner motivation that in turn, increases the willingness to take the courses. According to the findings of this study, 70 percent of the respondents reported improved motivation to learn when they were able to use their mobile devices to navigate the courses successfully.

19- Mobile learning boosts learner engagement.

According to the findings of the 2015 Asia-Pacific Skillsoft survey, 72 percent of the participants reported increased engagement with mobile learning.

20- Mobile learning improves learning time.

The findings from the Merrill Lynch GoLearn initiative provide evidence that mLearning slash learning time. During this experiment, one group of virtual learning- and mobile-savvy workforce undertook the training on their mobile devices while the other group used traditional desktop computers to learn.

According to the findings of a CSE Software, Inc. survey, 72 percent of companies report that by embracing mobile learning, they have become more responsive to marketplace changes.

The findings of the 2015 Asia-Pacific Skillsoft survey also indicate that mLearning drives business: 76 percent of the decision-makers reported business growth while 55 percent reported improved business outcomes after embracing mobile learning.

According to a new Report by Ambient Insight. The growth rate for Mobile Learning products and services in the Latin America region is 32.5%, second highest regional growth rate in the world after the Africa region. Revenues will more than quadruple from the $362.3 million reached in 2012 to a staggering $1.4 billion by 2017.